Extradition Lawyer in Thessaloniki: Council of the Thessaloniki Court of Appeal and the Local Procedure

Which Thessaloniki institutions handle the file?

The working label “Council of the Thessaloniki Court of Appeal” is correct for conventional extradition. The current Greek Code of Criminal Procedure, Law 4620/2019, Articles 436–457 as amended, applies where no treaty rule displaces it; Article 436 makes the Code supplementary where a convention applies. An EAW from another EU Member State is a separate surrender procedure, not conventional extradition.

Article 446 directs the prosecutor, once identity is confirmed, to order custody in a penitentiary establishment for accused persons. The public local sources reviewed do not establish that every extradition detainee is placed in one fixed facility; confirm the actual location from the custody order or the prosecutor before arranging a visit.

The prosecutor’s office lists public reception Monday–Friday, 09:00–14:00, and 26 October as a local public holiday. These counter hours are not an arrest-response deadline. Ask which unit holds the file, where the person is detained and when the reports were sent to the Court of Appeal; confirm access arrangements on the official site before travelling.

What happens after an airport arrest?

The following is a practical action plan, not a universal “first 72 hours” statutory limit. The applicable instrument and the procedural trigger determine the real deadline.

For provisional arrest before the full request arrives, do not apply one deadline to every case. Article 445(3) CCP contains a domestic 30-day rule, but a governing treaty may set another period. Under Article 16(4) of the 1957 European Convention on Extradition, if the request and Article 12 documents have not arrived within 18 days of arrest, release may be ordered; provisional arrest must not in any event exceed 40 days from arrest. For the specific request, counsel must check the applicable treaty, reservations and statutory trigger.

Which deadlines must be calendared?

Some older online summaries still state a 24-hour appeal period. For conventional extradition, the current Article 451 deadline is five days from publication of the final Council decision, not from a later family notification or receipt of a copy. Keep a dated custody chronology and obtain the decision immediately.

What does the Council decide, and who authorises surrender?

Under Article 450, the Council gives a reasoned opinion on identity, the documents required by the Code or applicable convention, whether the offence is extraditable and relevant legal bars. It does not conduct a trial to determine guilt. Under Article 450(2), it may make a limited assessment of the official material where the applicable convention does not preclude that inquiry. Article 449(4) allows the Council, at any stage and subject to legal conditions, to replace detention with restrictive conditions; that replacement automatically ends when a decision approving extradition is published.

A person’s express consent under Article 448 is a separate, formally recorded and irrevocable declaration made before the President of the Court of Appeal with counsel and, if needed, an interpreter. It is not simply a waiver of the hearing. Do not give consent before counsel explains its consequences. Under Article 452(1), the Minister of Justice may order conventional extradition only after a favourable judicial opinion becomes irrevocable. If the refusal becomes irrevocable, the appellate prosecutor orders release. The five-day appeal is against the final judicial Council decision; it is not a general deadline for every later administrative act.

Greece has been party to the 1957 European Convention on Extradition since 27 August 1961, subject to the reservations recorded by the Council of Europe Treaty Office. Treaty terms can displace inconsistent Code provisions. Areios Pagos Decision 848/2026 confirms the need to apply the governing convention where it conflicts with domestic rules. Do not assume that a document requirement or offence threshold from one treaty applies to every requesting state.

What does the recent Thessaloniki case tell a family?

In Decision 848/2026, issued on 14 July 2026, the Areios Pagos reviewed the Thessaloniki Council’s Decision 290/2026 in a request from Türkiye. It accepted the appeal as procedurally admissible but rejected it on the merits, considering claims of political motivation, ill-treatment risk and a pending application for international protection. This is a case-specific illustration, not a guarantee for another person.

The Court did not treat the pending asylum application, by itself, as an automatic procedural bar to judicial examination. It separately addressed the non-refoulement principle and the alleged risk on the evidence, and distinguished the judicial stage from the later ministerial stage. This is not a ruling that asylum evidence is irrelevant or that extradition may proceed despite a substantiated risk. Do not assume that an asylum application automatically stops the hearing or that it is irrelevant. Give counsel the protection-application records and specific evidence of personal risk immediately. Detailed refusal grounds belong in the Greek extradition refusal and appeals guide.

The later Decision 903/2026 is important if international protection has already been granted, not merely requested. In its decision of 28 July 2026, the Areios Pagos explained that a currently valid grant of international protection does not, by itself, prevent the extradition Council from hearing the case or bind it to refuse extradition: the Council must assess the protection decision together with the evidence of risk. But while that status remains in force, the Minister of Justice may not order extradition to the state against which protection was granted. The decision applies the Greek framework in force from 12 June 2026, including Law 5307/2026. Counsel should submit the final protection decision, proof that it remains in force, any appeal or revocation documents, and individual evidence of risk to the Council and the competent ministry. This is different from a pending application: Decision 848/2026 says it does not automatically stop the judicial hearing, although it affects the later ministerial stage.

What should the family or foreign lawyer prepare?

• Identity documents and every spelling or transliteration used in earlier records.
• Arrest location and time, presentation time before the prosecutor, custody location, and all reference numbers.
• The warrant, Red Notice information if available, formal request, foreign charge or judgment, supporting documents and translations.
• The person’s preferred language, counsel’s contact details, and any request for an interpreter or appointed lawyer.
• Documents needing urgent legal assessment: identity discrepancies, prior final decisions, limitation, medical vulnerability, evidence of persecution or ill-treatment, and asylum records. Counsel should decide how each item is legally relevant.
• A one-page chronology distinguishing the date a Council decision was published from the date a copy reached the family.

For a detained person, ask counsel to contact the official Thessaloniki appellate prosecutor’s office and confirm which unit holds the file. A foreign lawyer should send original documents and reliable translations to Greek counsel, who can verify what has entered the court file.

Hypothetical example: a Red Notice arrest at Macedonia Airport

Suppose a Georgian citizen is stopped at Thessaloniki “Makedonia” Airport after an alert linked to a non-EU state. The family should not assume the alert is the extradition order. Counsel should establish whether the arrest is provisional under Article 445 CCP, based on a formal request or under another warrant; identify the treaty; and record when the person was presented to the appellate prosecutor. If identity is disputed, the three-day period runs from that presentation. Counsel should obtain the file and interpreter, prepare for the Council hearing and calendar the five-day appeal period if an adverse final decision is published. The route may differ if an EAW or another legal basis applies.

Is this an EAW, extradition or immigration removal?

An EAW from another EU Member State follows a separate surrender framework under Law 3251/2004 and EU law; do not copy the five-day conventional-extradition deadline into an EAW case. A Red Notice is a police alert, not a final court decision, and immigration removal is a different process. Read the European Arrest Warrant procedure guide, the INTERPOL Red Notice guide and the Greece extradition guide for the separate routes.

For a time-sensitive arrest, obtain independent Greek criminal-defence advice promptly. The site’s team coordinates cross-border defence with local counsel; request a consultation with the relevant documents and dates.